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Kuro Tori
Kuro Tori is the famous elven pirate king and leader of the Blue Dragon pirates whose base lies in Shipwreck Cove in Yamato. He continues to lead the pirates from the Cove even after the Cataclysm, raiding any vessels that come his way regardless of who they serve, and he swears allegiance to no one but himself. Biography Early Years Little is known about Kuro Tori's past. It's even unknown if Kuro Tori, which means Black Bird in Yamatian, is his birth name or if it's just the name he adopted after becoming a pirate. What little is known that at some point he ended up becoming a pirate captain who quickly proved himself on the seas of Yamato, raiding any Yamatian vessel that he came across. Over the following centuries his name and deeds grew so infamous that people, both landlubbers and sailors alike, began referring to him as the Pirate King of Yamato who swore allegiance to no one but himself. At some point Kuro Tori settled into the Pirate's Cove from which he kept raiding Yamatian vessels. He quickly turned the once insignificant Blue Dragons into the mightiest pirate crew that had ever sailed the Yamatian seas. The pirates paid tribute to Tiamat, Goddess of the Sea, to have her bless them with good fortune when they were sailing in her waters, and Kuro Tori likewise showed great affinity towards the goddess, devoting his deeds to honor her name. Distreyd Era Stormy Seas In 1000 AE, Kuro Tori sent one of his more competent underlings, Captain Yousei Kaizoku, to scout Falgorn when the pirates had heard rumours that Shogun Masamori Hyuga had staged a coup against Emperor Takeshi Ofuchi and was now attempting to unite the bickering island clans of Yamato under his banner one by one by force. Kaizoku quickly discovered that the rumours were indeed true and that the Shogun had allied himself with the Clergy of Mardük. Once the Shogun had taken over the islands that had resisted his rule, he sent his fleet after Kaizoku and the rest of the Blue Dragon pirates in order to wipe out Kuro Tori's pirates who had been a thorn on the empire's side for far too long. A grand battle was waged on the archipelago and the narrow straits between the pirates and the imperial navy. Although the pirate ships were smaller and faster than the empire's fleet, they underestimated the Clergy of Mardük and high cleric Distreyd Thanadar XII whose powers helped the empire prevail against the pirates who suddenly found themselves weakened thanks to magic and treachery from their own ranks thanks to information spilled by the pirate turncoat Wilheim Maddingway. Several of Kuro Tori's officers, Kaizoku included, were taken into custody and molded by Distreyd and the Shogun's brother Jaotu Hyuga through mental and physical torture to become the Shogun's obedient servants. Kuro Tori himself, however, was never caught even after the empire raided his base in Pirate's Cove. What the empire didn't know is that the Pirate King had fled to his second base, Shipwreck Cove, from which he observed the events that would take place in his homeland over the following years while Masamori's and Distreyd's forces grew in number and in power. The Pirate King laid low during the Great War when the empire's forces clashed with the Grand Alliance although his spies kept him informed of the identities and actions of prominent figures on both sides. Even when the battles reached the Yamatian heartlands, Kuro Tori remained undeterred and ordered his surviving pirates to stay put. This cautious strategy saved the Blue Dragon pirates once the Cataclysm abruptly ended the war and forced the Alliance to flee from Yamato while hordes of demons invaded through the Gate of Darkness and took over the weakened empire. New Priorities Once the battles and backstabbings among Yamatian defenders and demons alike calmed down enough and it became clear that four equally powerful and rival demon hordes would now effectively rule Yamato from their respective duchies, Kuro Tori made quick assessments of the situation and how to adapt his pirating 'business' to the changed geopolitical situation in Yamato. Shipwreck Cove was neatly in an area between the borders of two demon duchies, thus allowing the pirates to raid one duchy and then retreat to the other duchy's lands without fear of reprisals as they lured demons to fight against one another. Kuro Tori laid his eyes on the wealthy, now demon-occupied port city of Oreinashi and the Western Horde which ruled it because of the city's riches. He sen pirates to raid the ships of any non-demon merchant who had sided with the demons while also training to kill demons in combat even though such foes were difficult to face due to their regenerative abilities. Because of this constant harassment from the pirates, Duke Pazuzu, the Lord of the West, placed a bounty on the heads of prominent Blue Dragons, including Kuro Tori himself. Blue Dragons continued piracy on Yamatian seas, and although they lost men, they were always willing to find more recruits for their crews as well as loot in the form of valuables and people who were brought along as well. One of the women brought to the Cove, Alicanto Ke, caught Kuro Tori's eye and became one of his concubines, eventually impressing the Pirate King enough with her wit and beauty that she was promoted as the head concubine of his harem as well as Lady High Treasurer of the pirates' loot. Much to Kuro Tori's pleasure, he also got his hands on other people that pleased him albeit in a different manner than Madame Ke. After the fall of Yamato and the Shogun, the surviving members of the Shogun's Hyuga Clan had fled the invading demons and had ended up in the hands of the pirates. Kuro Tori turned these captives, Jaotu Hyuga, Hiroki Hyuga and Sayuri Hyuga, into his personal slaves and further humiliated them by taking the young Sayuri into his harem in order to further sully their honor. Godslayer Era Smitten by Stowaways In 1017 AE, Kuro Tori received news of the arrival of a group of gaijin to Shipwreck Cove, and he ordered them to be brought before him. He only spoke to them in Yamatian and was annoyed when he found out that some of them didn't understand what he was saying. Hiroki Hyuga, the Pirate King's personal slave who was present in the meeting, stepped in to act as a translator, which Kuro Tori accepted. During these conversations it turned out that the group of gaijin also included one of the Blue Dragons, a pirate named Susumu Kawamoto, whom Kuro Tori ordered to remain in the Cove until further notice. When one of the travellers, Louhi Pohjola, attempted to talk to the Pirate King on behalf of her group, Kuro Tori ignored her, not wishing to speak with a woman. Instead he and Hiroki only conversed with Louhi's associate Geras Sylevar, a male elf, who presented the Pirate King with two demon captives named Rahovart and Saleos as a sign of goodwill and asked that their group be allowed to stay among the pirates for a while. Intrigued by this odd gesture, Kuro Tori decided to take the demons and throw them into the dungeon for later questioning, particularly when he heard one of the demons mention the Western Horde, an enemy of the Blue Dragons. As far as he was concerned, both the demons and these gaijin were now his property and could just as well stay since they'd never leave the Cove alive unless he allowed it to happen. Kuro Tori's attention quickly turned to other matters, however, when he realized how many beautiful women were in the group. His eyes seemed to focus particularly on two women of elven blood, Unithien Greyrain and Varalia Earthhaven. He deemed the women in the group as suitable addition to his harem and ordered the men and women to be taken to the 'guest rooms' where they'd be 'prepared' for a later event. Meetings and Plans As the group was escorted away, the Pirate King turned his attention to the young Yamatian woman on his lap, Sayuri Hyuga. Delighting in the opportunity to humiliate her relatives Hiroki and Jaotu Hyuga who could do nothing but watch, he began caressing and kissing her. Although Sayuri pleaded her father to intervene, Jaotu ordered her to mind her tongue and follow orders; Kuro Tori was pleased to see the rage in Jaotu's eyes and how helpless his old rivals were now that they were all his property. The Pirate King and Sayuri were left alone in the throne room. Later that evening, Kuro Tori and his entourage entered the Corsair's Grin, a lavish inn and brothel owned by his head concubine Madame Alicanto Ke, which was wildly popular among pirates. They watched the bard Velvet perform a rowdy song to the crowd and generally had a good time. Kuro Tori had also arranged that Varalia and Unithien would be dressed in revealing silk dresses before they'd be escorted to his chambers, although unbeknownst to him Varalia and Unithien were less than pleased with the prospect of becoming the Pirate King's property. When the two women didn't show up to his chambers later that night, however, and pirates informed him that the pair had retreated to the clinic of Oscar Locke, Kuro Tori sent several pirates to fetch Varalia and Unithien from the clinic whether diplomatically or via force. The Pirate King waited until morning when word reached him that Kusotare, one of his sworn captains, had rebelled against him and had tried to take the two women for himself. Kuro Tori also learned that Oscar and Susumu among others had come to the women's rescue although they had only been able to save Varalia while Unithien had been kidnapped by a sea serpent out of all things. Having learned that Varalia was presently being treated in Oscar's clinic which the other pirates had been unable to breach, Kuro Tori sent one of his more cunning pirates, Decanus Tafford who also happened to be Oscar's friend, to bring Varalia and the people in the clinic to the throne room to answer for the events of the night. Tafford succeeded in his task and brought everyone to the frustrated Pirate King. Passionate Encounters Kuro Tori met with Oscar and Susumu, as well as the rest of their group, who had brought down the traitorous captain Kusotare, in his throne room. He heard their story about the events from earlier and then decreed that as both Oscar and Susumu had defeated Kusotare together, they should duel, and the victor would receive Kusotare's ship as a reward. After Oscar had defeated Susumu in the duel, he was promoted into the rank of captain and swore an oath of fealty towards the Pirate King, after which Kuro Tori dismissed him and everyone else in the throne room except Hiroki, Marcus and Varalia since he wanted to converse with the latter two through Hiroki who acted as his translator. Kuro Tori spoke at length with both Marcus and Varalia, telling them things neither were too pleased to hear. After this englightening discussion, he sent Varalia to her new quarters to get ready to please him later in exchange for returning her missing daughter Unithien to her, and he told Marcus to go inform Oscar that Oscar would be one of the captains selected for the mission to locate and rescue Unithien from the sea serpent which had taken her. The Pirate King retreated to his quarters where his cooks prepared a meal for him and Varalia whom he viewed as his newest concubine. Varalia showed up later in the room, dressed in fine silk which he had chosen for her, and the two began a charged conversation about themselves, with Kuro Tori asserting his superiority over the ostensibly submissive Varalia. At last Kuro Tori invited Varalia to his bed, expecting her to obey. Varalia stripped and played a long, attempting to lull the Pirate King into a false sense of security before she'd pull out a dagger she had concealed in her discarded dress and kill Kuro Tori where he lay. However, when she attempted to do this, she was stopped by Kuro Tori who revealed that one of the guards, who had been sent by Oscar, had informed him that Varalia held a stolen dagger in her possession. Instead of letting the guard remove it, he had wanted Varalia to keep it and amuse himself by watching her act submissive without her realizing that he knew she had the dagger. Kuro Tori thought he had won the game now that he had revealed the truth to Varalia and began to force the dagger out of her hand and then forcibly lie with her. However, Varalia managed to summon strength into her and tossed her dagger to her other hand, catching the Pirate King by surprise just in time for her to stab him. The Pirate King removed the dagger and tried to chase after Varalia, boasting that such a cut wouldn't even be a hindrance, but had to stop when the wound began reacting. He realized he had been poisoned and questioned where Varalia might've gotten poison to coat the dagger with, all the while he refused to believe that one of his pirates would carry a poisoned dagger. Varalia considered finishing Kuro Tori off but realized the risks that came with it, so she chose to flee from his palace instead, leaving Kuro Tori lying on the floor in pain while the poison began spreading throughout his body. Kuro Tori's absence was noted the following morning when several pirate ships, including the newly sworn Captain Oscar's Seastrider left the Cove in search of Unithien. However, everyone present was more focused on carrying out the Pirate King's orders and presumed he was exhausted from the night spent with Varalia to attend, so they remained unaware of Kuro Tori's poisoning and Varalia's escape from his chambers. Aliases and Nicknames ; Pirate King : The title which all pirates in Yamato refer to him as...whether grudgingly or not. ; Tori-sama : A name used for Kuro Tori among the pirates. The suffix "sama" is one of high respect as he is someone pirates both respect and fear. Appearance A strong, muscular elf with dark hair, dark moustache, dark features and blue eyes. He's clad in a dark pirate's outfit with some gold here and there. He sometimes has his impressive pirate hat on but most of the time it's in the possession of Bai Gu Jing, the only other person besides himself who he lets wear the hat. Personality and Traits Calculating, cunning, ruthless, greedy. Loves wine and women, and often mixes work with pleasure, never coming off as a goof. He's the one person in the Cove that all pirates respect, keeping any discontent to themselves because they know how fierce he can be when angered. However, he also has a soft side such as when he adopted the confused and ditzy demon Bai Gu Jing even if it was also partly motivated by self-interest. He prefers to speak in Yamatian, and doesn't care if gaijin don't understand what he's saying. Powers and Abilities An expert using various swords whether they are rapiers, katanas, sabres or scimitars. He's also a good shot and has a modified flintlock pistol which he always carries with him. Relationships Alicanto Ke The Pirate King regards Alicanto fondly and has made her his head concubine which is closest to a wife or Queen that the King will ever have because he prefers not to be married. Alicanto likewise finds Kuro a charming man whose knowledge of valuables excites her. Bai Gu Jing Kuro adopted Bai Gu Jing, a stray and ditzy demoness as his daughter. Although this was partly motivated by self-interest as the demoness offered him a good way to study demons up close, he also grew fond of her quirky personality and even lets her wear his pirate hat which no one else in the Cove is allowed to do. Bai Gu Jing likewise seems to be totally under the Pirate King's spell, obeying his every whim. Jaotu Hyuga Jaotu was forced to become Kuro Tori's servant and knows how the Pirate King derives pleasure from the fact. They have an elaborate cat and mouse chase of wits at work as both know their disdain for one another. Despite this, Jaotu continues serving Kuro Tori even if he feels it hurts his pride as a Hyuga, and Kuro Tori finds great amusement in the fact that he has the fallen nobleman in his grip. Hiroki Hyuga After ending up in the Cove, Hiroki became one of Kuro Tori's special slaves. He remained stoic in the face of adversity, which amused Kuro Tori enough to make Hiroki his translator as a reward and punishment. Hiroki followed Kuro Tori's orders without question, appearing as a man who had resigned to a life of servitude under the Hyuga's enemy. However, Kuro Tori never fully trusted Hiroki but chose to bide his time and see whether the elder Hyuga would provide him with amusement. Sayuri Hyuga Sayuri dislikes Kuro Tori, seeing him as a lecherous womanizer, but has found herself as one of the newest additions to his shifting harem of oiran geisha. Kuro finds her young and attractive, and he doesn't care about her protests. As far as the Pirate King is concerned, everything in Shipwreck Cove is his property, including Sayuri, with the added benefit of Sayuri being a member of the Hyuga Clan, his sworn enemies, and thus Sayuri is a means through which he can humiliate the clan even more. Varalia Earthhaven After Kuro Tori saw Varalia with his own eyes, he was taken in by her beauty and considered her his property from that moment on, delighting in the opportunity to be with an elf instead of a human. He knew Varalia, as a former officer of the Shogun's army, would be difficult to tame, but he believes that he can tame her like he's tamed other fierce women over the years. See also *Alicanto Ke *Bai Gu Jing *Blue Dragon *Hyuga Clan *Shipwreck Cove *Varalia Earthhaven *Yousei Kaizoku Category:Blue Dragon Category:Characters Category:Elves Category:Third Age Category:Yamato